The Heifer (Al-Baqarah) البقرة 238–242
238
حَافِظُواْ عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ والصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُواْ لِلّهِ قَانِتِينَ
Be ever mindful of prayers, especially the middle prayer; and stand up before God in submissive devotion.
239
فَإنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالاً أَوْ رُكْبَانًا فَإِذَا أَمِنتُمْ فَاذْكُرُواْ اللّهَ كَمَا عَلَّمَكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْلَمُونَ
When you are exposed to danger, pray on foot or while riding; when you are safe again, remember God, for He has taught you what you did not know.
240
وَالَّذِينَ يُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنكُمْ وَيَذَرُونَ أَزْوَاجًا وَصِيَّةً لِّأَزْوَاجِهِم مَّتَاعًا إِلَى الْحَوْلِ غَيْرَ إِخْرَاجٍ فَإِنْ خَرَجْنَ فَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي مَا فَعَلْنَ فِيَ أَنفُسِهِنَّ مِن مَّعْرُوفٍ وَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
If any of you die and leave widows, make a bequest for them of a year’s maintenance without causing them to leave their homes; but if they leave of their own accord, you will not be blamed for what they may reasonably choose to do with themselves. God is almighty and wise.
241
وَلِلْمُطَلَّقَاتِ مَتَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ حَقًّا عَلَى الْمُتَّقِينَ
For divorced women a provision according to what is fair shall also be made. This is an obligation binding on the righteous.
242
كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
Thus God makes His commandments clear to you, so that you may understand.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
(a) The word hafizu (literally ‘guard’) is used to denote yet another aspect of prayer. It is as if prayer were an object to be guarded just the way wealth is. Great care in observing the proper timings of prayer, even in times of the greatest danger, and refraining from all such actions as may mar the spirit of prayer—all this is implied by the ‘guarding’ of prayer. The third aspect of prayer is humility. It is the essence of prayer. Prayer is the standing of His servants before their Lord. Therefore, it is essential that at times of prayer that state of mind should be induced in the suppliant, which prevails when the most humble stands before the Most High. (b) This shows that there is a middle prayer, and then prayers before and after. In this verse the prayers before and after have to be taken to refer to at least four in number, for the word used in the Arabic language, salawat (plural of salat) denotes three or more in number. The first possible number where one prayer may become a middle prayer between the prayers is four. In this way, with one prayer becoming the middle prayer, there are two sets of two prayers on either side. The middle prayer, according to the majority of the exegetes, is the afternoon (‘asr) prayer. Prayer is the essence of religion. It is the microcosm of a believing life which, when extended, becomes a complete Islamic life. Here the three most important aspects of prayer have been briefly described: 1. Prayer is obligatory five times a day. 2. Praying is of great importance. 3. Humility is the real essence of prayer. (a) Setting forth injunctions regarding social matters, the Quran states, ‘This is an obligation binding on the righteous.’ This shows us an important aspect of Islamic law. In mutual matters there are certain rights on which the law has been laid down. But there are further mutual rights which go beyond fixed boundaries. These rights can be seen as such only by those who are God-fearing. The more one is God- fearing, the more sensitive one is in discharging one’s duties with regard to giving others their dues.